On Democratic Socialism

When I was in my teens, I was a self professed Democratic Socialist. I believed with all my heart that is was THE best way (everybody makes mistakes (currently a Blue Tory)). I believed both that the poor should be helped (as I still do now) and that we should collect money to fund programs to that end. As I reflect on that now, I am struck by the hidden meaning of the two word term; even as a teen, I understood the danger of socialism because I realized the need for the qualifier word democratic. Knowing that it needed to be controlled and believing that democracy could accomplish that task, understanding that socialism was like a fire that could heat or burn down your home, I missed a few important points; communism has failed every single time it has been tried and it reduces the standard of living to the lowest common denominator while making individuals dependent on authority. Vladimir Lenin said, very matter-of-factly, that THE goal of socialism is communism; you don't have to understand or believe that for it to be true either, nor for it to happen. I'm reminded of what an American statesman said in reference to establishing a navy; in reference to government programs, he stated that if a navy was established to fight the conflict, it would become a standing navy that would remain long after and that would be very hard--if not impossible--to end or abolish. Ronald Reagan said that if welfare programs were designed to help people, shouldn't there be fewer and fewer people requiring these programs every year? The opposite is true; since their establishment, more and more people come to depend on them. And, big government bureaucracy needs them as a raison d'etre. It's in their best interest to grow the program, not help reduce the number of those dependent on it. It's an industry, and their jobs and offices depend on it. I forgot something else too; socialism is not voluntary. It is maintained by force. The collection of funds is done through coercion, starting with letters, warnings, and notices, and ending with incarceration or worse. And, like the Hotel California, you can never leave. The converse is true; in a liberal (classical liberalism) free market democracy, you can choose to join or belong to a social group that fosters the care of it's members, like the Sons of Scotland. You can never leave socialism but by bloody revolution and resistance. Also, as Elbert Lee Guillory pointed out when he said that, liberal (leftist) policies are not designed to lift the Black community out of poverty but were designed to keep them in servitude while truly being about maintaining power. Socialism is always only about power.

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